Ask the Author: J.P. Pomare
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J.P. Pomare
Hi Dee,
thanks for the great question. Firstly, I adore Maketu. As a teenager I spent a great deal of time there and around Pukehina where friends had family baches that had been passed down through generations. I always found the area so beautiful yet rugged and isolated. I have fond memories collecting mussels and floundering in the estuary late at night. Coming from Rotorua, it's easy to grow cynical about the tourism industry in NZ and I always wondered why some places are overlooked by tourists (especially given how beautiful Newdicks Beach is for instance) so part of my decision to base Evie in Maketu was to try and subvert some of the ideals that international audiences might have about NZ (I'm not sure if I have done Maketu any favours in this regard!) It's also isolated in the sense that it's not really on the way to anywhere and I found the locals could be a little insular, again both help to build the sort of atmosphere required in writing compelling rural crime stories. Places like Tolaga Bay and Te Kaha were also considered but Maketu will always be one of my absolute favourite spots on the planet and I knew it so well that half the research was done before I began to write. I could also easily draw on some of my own experiences out there and many of the things I encountered.
I really hope I have done the place justice and still try to visit whenever I'm back in the Bay.
thanks for the great question. Firstly, I adore Maketu. As a teenager I spent a great deal of time there and around Pukehina where friends had family baches that had been passed down through generations. I always found the area so beautiful yet rugged and isolated. I have fond memories collecting mussels and floundering in the estuary late at night. Coming from Rotorua, it's easy to grow cynical about the tourism industry in NZ and I always wondered why some places are overlooked by tourists (especially given how beautiful Newdicks Beach is for instance) so part of my decision to base Evie in Maketu was to try and subvert some of the ideals that international audiences might have about NZ (I'm not sure if I have done Maketu any favours in this regard!) It's also isolated in the sense that it's not really on the way to anywhere and I found the locals could be a little insular, again both help to build the sort of atmosphere required in writing compelling rural crime stories. Places like Tolaga Bay and Te Kaha were also considered but Maketu will always be one of my absolute favourite spots on the planet and I knew it so well that half the research was done before I began to write. I could also easily draw on some of my own experiences out there and many of the things I encountered.
I really hope I have done the place justice and still try to visit whenever I'm back in the Bay.
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